MAPL Chesapeake City Classic

As Spring gave way to Summer in the Mid-Atlantic region, the Mid-Atlantic Paintball League promoted their second event of 2013, the Chesapeake City Classic. Hosted (as all MAPL events are) by OXCC Paintball, a sprawling woodsball, scenario and tournament park straddling the Maryland/Delaware border, event number two on the MAPL 2012 schedule attracted well over 30 three and five-man teams competing for paintball guns, loaders, compressed air bottles, gear bags and Mid-Atlantic bragging rights.

As Spring gave way to Summer in the Mid-Atlantic region, the Mid-Atlantic Paintball League promoted their second event of 2013, the Chesapeake City Classic. Hosted (as all MAPL events are) by OXCC Paintball, a sprawling woodsball, scenario and tournament park straddling the Maryland/Delaware border, event number two on the MAPL 2012 schedule attracted well over 30 three and five-man teams competing for paintball guns, loaders, compressed air bottles, gear bags and Mid-Atlantic bragging rights.

In sharp contrast to the chilly, early-Spring weather for the Mid-Atlantic Paintball League’s first event of 2013, the Maryland Cup, the league’s second event was played in temperatures well above ninety degrees, with high humidity. Uncomfortable and borderline dangerous for referees and players alike, league officials spent a good portion of their day asking players if they were drinking enough water. Played on the same layout used by the PSP for the Mid-Atlantic Open, hosted the month before at OXCC, the Chesapeake City Classic’s three and five-man D4/5 competition saw three-man teams play their entire event Saturday, followed by five-man on Sunday, allowing some players to compete on both days for the chance to double up on prizes, glory, welts and heat exhaustion. On the line for the second event of 2013 were prizes including Valken Proton and Bob Long G6R markers, Virtue Spire loaders, Eclipse gear bags, Crossfire compressed air tanks customized with the MAPL logo and cases of Valken Redemption paintballs. Speaking of Valken Redemption, the MAPL upped the ante at the Chesapeake City Classic, offering two grades of Valken Redemption paintballs, both Pro and Platinum from a climate-controlled paint truck, to players who had to choose between Redemption and Crusade at the league’s previous event.

Saturday’s three-man event was conducted on a single Valken SupAir field at OXCC, as fourteen teams came out to play RaceTo paintball. The league started games off at a leisurely 9am yet still finished in early afternoon. Saturday’s heat and humidity were brutal, but players still pushed hard, moving up both the snake and “Dorito” sides of the field aggressively, while PRO certified referees kept things inside the net under control. By Saturday afternoon the fourteen attending teams had been thinned out, leaving United, Steady Mungin, Charm City Chokehold and Whispering Eye to battle for paintball guns and gold hardware. When the guns finally stopped firing, it was United that stood atop the podium, ahead of Steady Mungin (we recommend not doing any research into that team’s name) and Charm City Chokehold. The first place team from the Maryland Cup, Freedom, had a rough day and managed only tenth place overall, but remain atop the series standings.

Thankfully, especially for the players who played Saturday and Sunday, and for the referees, Sunday dawned slightly cooler and less humid than Saturday, with a light breeze to keep air moving. While over twenty teams signed up to play the five-man portion of the Chesapeake City Classic, two were no-shows the day of the event, causing forfeits in the RaceTo schedule. Again, games began at 9am but Sunday saw two fields used for preliminary rounds. The winners of the Maryland Cup (as well as its best-dressed team award), Leverage D4, were back to defend their title at the Chesapeake City Classic, along with Tri-State Terror and Freedom. Shooters 365, who played to a hard-fought third place at the previous event, did not attend the second event of the 2013 MAPL schedule. Freedom had a much better day playing five-man paintball than they had playing three-man the day before, as they powered into the late rounds looking tough. No Limit, the tenth place team from the Maryland Cup, looked very strong, moving into Sunday afternoon with aggressive play and gutsy moves to get things done, especially on the snake side. Leverage D4 refused to be left out, moving on as well. They were unable to repeat their gold-winning performance from the previous event however, managing to win a battle for third place against NRG Elite. Despite strong moves up the snake side that no team seemed able to shut down, Freedom’s charge to the top ran out of steam in the finals and they were forced to settle for second place, behind No Limit, who took home five Bob Long G6R Intimidator markers. Thanks to their consistency, Leverage and Freedom remain atop the D4/5 five-man RaceTo standings in the MAPL, with Tri-State terror in third.

With two events down and three more to go in their 2013 season, the Mid-Atlantic Paintball League continues to give away lavish prizes and enjoy competition at a truly world-class facility that, in 2013, will host both PSP and NPPL professional events. The final three events of 2013 for the Mid-Atlantic Paintball League will be hosted in July, August and October, all at OXCC Paintball in northeastern Maryland. For more information, a complete prize list or to register, visit the online home of the league at www.MAPLSeries.com.